- God tells Jeremiah to go to the King of Judah and bring him a message.
- Jeremiah's supposed to go through the usual repentance spiel: change your ways and stop oppressing widows and orphans, don't shed innocent blood, and make sure you punish robbers, yadda yadda.
- If they heed this advice, they'll have righteous kings in the future. But if they don't, the city will be demolished.
- Right now, things in the palace might seem as lush as Gilead or Lebanon. But God will turn the land into a desolate waste if the rulers don't pay attention.
- The destroyers will cut down their best cedars and burn them.
- All the nations will see Judah's destruction and gossip about how they were destroyed for disobeying God.
- Don't weep for the dead, says God—weep for the people being sent into exile.
- God says that King Shallum will die in exile and never see Jerusalem again.
How to Die like a Donkey
- God says that rulers who exploit their workers to build fancy palaces for themselves will end up suffering.
- A bigger palace doesn't make someone a true king—ruling righteously does.
- Regarding King Jehoiakim, God says that people won't lament his death and he'll be buried like a donkey. How are donkeys buried again?
- The people should go cry in Lebanon and other places since their lovers (allies) have been crushed.
- The people have never obeyed God; it's been like this since they were kids.
- So they'll all get taken into captivity along with their allies.
- As for the next king after Jehoiakim, Coniah (or Jehoiachin), God says that even if Coniah were the signet ring on his hand, he'd tear him off. He and his mother will both be sent into exile in Babylon, where they'll eventually die.